Truman State’s Catholic Newman Center was ranked No. 33 on a list of the 50 best college Newman Centers published by Best College Reviews.
Criteria for the rankings included student involvement, as well as spiritual and social opportunities provided to students. The ranking can be found at bestcollegereviews.org.
Chris Korte, Truman Newman Center Director, says the Truman Newman Center offers spiritual opportunities for mass, the sacraments, prayer, retreats and small groups. Korte says a big part of the Newman Center is service opportunities to help make a difference in Kirksville and other communities.
“[These projects] give students a chance to be a part of something big to help serve others,” Korte says.
In addition to service projects, Korte says the Newman Center also hosts several social outreach events to welcome people into the group.
Korte says the idea for Newman Centers began during the late 1800s when immigrants, many of whom were Roman Catholic, started settling in the United States. Korte says more Newman Centers were established during the 1940s and 50s when more people began attending college and the Catholic population at universities began to grow.
“They didn’t want people to feel on their own and lost [at college].” Korte says. He says at about that point in time, a Newman Club started at Truman. Korte says initially the club was just a small group of people who met in a church basement. He says during the 1970s or 80s the group purchased a building, the first Truman Newman Center, but within 10 years had outgrown the space. Korte says the current site then was purchased during the late 1980s. By 2000, Korte says the building had to be expanded as the Catholic population continued to grow at Truman.
Korte says there are Newman Centers across the globe, though they predominantly are located in western European countries, the U.S. and Canada. He says there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Newman Centers in the U.S. alone, and he thinks it is an honor for Truman to be in the top 50.
“[The ranking] is very affirming that we are doing what we are called to do,” Korte says.
More on Newman’s accomplishment can be found on Issuu.